Oxytocin neurons drive melanocortin circuit maturation via vesicle release during a neonatal critical period
Fig 7
Neonatal blockade of oxytocin signaling disrupts melanocortin circuits.
(A) Description of the animal model. Created in BioRender. Bouret, S. (2025) https://BioRender.com/d5iyc5j. (B–E) Representative images and quantification of (B, D) POMC and (C, E) AgRP fibers innervating the (B, C) paraventricular nucleus (PVH) and (D, E) dorsomedial nucleus (DMH) of adult wild-type mice injected with saline (control) or an oxytocin receptor antagonist (L-368,899, OTRA) neonatally (n = 8−5 animals per group). (F, G) Representative images and quantification of OT (PS38+) neurons and fibers innervating the (F) PVH and (G) lateral hypothalamic area (LHA), respectively, in adult mice injected with saline (control) or an oxytocin receptor antagonist (L-368,899, OTRA) neonatally (n = 7−6 animals per group). Data are presented as means + SEM. **P < 0.01. Scale bar 200 μm. The data underlying this Figure can be found in S1 Data.